New Karnataka CM lands in trouble on first day

Karnataka's newly appointed chief minister Jagadish Shettar landed in trouble on his very first day in office.

As Shettar left for New Delhi to discuss cabinet expansion with senior party leaders on Wednesday evening, a private complaint regarding land de-notification was filed against him before a special court set up to hear complaints under the Prevention of Corruption Act, 1988.

It was a plethora of land de-notification charges that forced his mentor, B.S. Yeddyurappa, to vacate the CM's chair.

Karnataka's newly appointed chief minister Jagadish Shettar landed in trouble on his very first day in office

The complainant, S.M. Chetan, who heads the NGO Bharatiya Vidya Kriya Samithi, alleged that Shettar ordered the de-notification of 186.9 acres of highly priced land in violation of rules when he was the revenue minister in 2006 in the Janata Dal (Secular)- BJP coalition government.

The government had acquired 356 acres of land in North Bangalore to set up a yard of the Agricultural Produce Marketing Committee (APMC). The land owners urged the Congress government (1999- 2004) to de-notify the land, but the then CM S.M. Krishna had dismissed their requests.

'When Shettar became the revenue minister, the land owners approached hi, too. He ordered the special tehsildar to denotify the land in favour of the owners without following the procedure.

'The cabinet's approval was not taken before the de-notification,' Chetan alleged. His advocate Ramesh Babu said the move caused a loss of `250 crore to the state exchequer. Special court judge N.K. Sudhindra admitted the complaint and posted the matter for hearing to July 21.

He directed the complainant to prove the charges against Shettar by furnishing documentary evidence.

The timing of the complaint has raised eyebrows, but Chetan said it was mere coincidence. 'I had been following this matter for the last two months. It is just that I could gather crucial evidence today. So, without any delay, I had to file the complaint,' he added.

Shettar's aides claimed they were unaware of the issue. 'Whatever might be the complaint our leader will fight it out in the court,' one of his confidants said.

UK's terror suspects on India's radar

India has sought details of the arrested terror suspects in the UK fearing a link with the Indian Mujahideen (IM).

Indian intelligence agencies have requested their British counterparts to share details of the investigation into busting a terror module that has international terror links.

The arrests come close on the heels of the British government banning terror group IM earlier this month. Describing IM as a threat to national security, the UK had cited its involvement in several terror attacks. Becoming a member of IM is now a criminal offence in the UK.

Indian agencies including the Intelligence Bureau and the Research and Analysis Wing are now in touch with the UK agencies regarding the recent arrests.

British agencies may have established a link between the terror module suspects and the IM, which finally led to it being banned.

Though the British agencies did not give out much information about the arrests they disclosed that the investigation is linked to international terrorism. 'The suspects are British citizens of Asian origin.

The names suggest that they are not direct IM members but since they have an Asian connection we need to have all details about them to verify their links,' a source said.

IM, initially portrayed as a homegrown terror group, has spread its network outside India after the country-wide crackdown on it that began with the 2008 Batla House encounter in Delhi. A series of IM modules were busted across the country.